Mistaken Allegiances
by Paul Clatt
Summary: What if Lucius Malfoy had been telling the truth all along? What if he and his family had been Imperiused by Voldemort to become his first followers? What if Narcissa and Lucius and the whole Black family changed their views on the Wizarding World and worked together to bring down Voldemort? AU and a different path taken by Voldemort to immortality. Not DH or Horcruxes compliant.
1. The Trial

Lucius Malfoy struggled in the chair that he was chained to. Dementors lurked nearby and he knew that he would have to play his cards correctly, were he to get out of this one. It was a little over a week since the Dark Lord Voldemort had fallen from power by a mere defenseless baby and he was one of the few Death Eaters who had remained back to be caught by the Ministry. His sister-in-law believed that she would be pleasing her fallen Lord by going to Azkaban, and whatever he tried, he couldn't sway her decision. He didn't want to go to Azkaban, no. Instead, he wanted to accomplish something, that would benefit the Malfoy name.

He looked around the Wizengamot and saw that it had been filled to capacity and a few who were unable to find seats were standing in the gallery towards the other side of the courtroom. He scowled, evidently, people would be very pleased to see him locked up in Azkaban. He laughed in his head, sneering at them all, as he ran through the plan in his head. Today, he would walk out a free man.

The general chatter in the room ceased almost immediately the Minister for Magic Barty Crouch Sr. strode into the room, levitating a stack of file folders in front of him. He took his position behind the raised podium and shuffled through the file folders before taking a look at the courtroom.

"Today, we are here for the trial of one Lucius Malfoy," he began, glancing around at the gathered people and pausing for a moment to consult his notes before going on again. "Who has been accused of assisting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named against the conspiracy against the Ministry knowingly, for the torture and murder of one Emmeline Vance and providing monetary support to the afore mentioned Dark Lord." He paused and looked at the room again to see the reaction of the people. Many were looking at Malfoy with hatred, while others were looking at him, keeping their faces void of any emotion.

"Further," he continued, consulting his notes again. "We have heard that the accused is known to have taken the Dark Mark willingly-"

"Objection, Your Honor," Lucius Malfoy drawled, as the entire room looked on, a surprised look on their faces. "The last accusation is based on hearsay and is not acceptable in the Court of Law."

The court scribe who had been looking on in surprise like the others, hurriedly wrote down what Malfoy had said. The Minister looked flustered for a moment before nodding his head curtly and consulting his notes again.

"What does the accused have to say about the charges?" he questioned, looking up again at Malfoy. Malfoy stated calmly back at him, seemingly unaffected by the Dementors around him. He straightened up in his chair and looked at around the room once.

"I was not of straight mind when the alleged deeds were committed," he said slowly, speaking to the room at large. "I was Imperiused by Lord Voldemort to take the Dark Mark. The Curse only lifted a week ago, after the fall of the Dark Lord. I have hardly had enough time to look through the old papers to see the deeds committed by me when I was under the Imperius Curse." The room was silent for one whole minute and then the whole room broke out into a babble of different unintelligible noises, most of which were coming from the spectators who were witnessing the hearing of Lucius Malfoy.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledoe roared, standing up from the row of seats occupied by the Wizengamot members. As the red sparks he had produced from his wand in an attempt to bring peace in the courtroom faded out, the whole room had his attention. "Minister, I would like to take over the rest of this hearing, and as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, if anyone so much as tries to oppose me, they will find themselves paying a fine of 20 Galleons," he said, without so much as a glance at the Minister, who was too slow to react. Dumbledore used this to his advantage, and pushed onward.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore began, as he got out of the seats and made his way over to the chair that held Lucius. "Would you be able to say the same that you said a few minutes ago, under the influence of Veritaserum?" He stopped in front of the chair and walked back to the raised podium where the Miniser of Magic was standing. Crouch Sr. seemed to have found his courage and he spoke up.

"Look here Dumbledore," he said, stammering. "You have no authority here in the Wizengamot to conduct the hearings-"

"Please forgive me for doing this, Barty," Dumbledore said, surveying the Minister over the rims of his half-moon spectacles, a smile playing on his face. "But I wasn't aware that the Chief Warlock had been ripped of his previliges in the court of law. The last time I read, page 362, 4th paragraph clearly stated that the Chief Warlock had full authority to take over the hearing if the Minister couldn't handle it well."

"Rules can be changed Dumbledore," Crouch Sr. snapped, clearly irritated by the fact that Dumbledore had more power than him in the court of law. His scowl was such a good one that Lucius was sure he would've given Severus Snape a run for his money.

"I propose we call for a vote," Dumbledore said, still smiling.

"I second that," a tall sharp featured woman called out from the Wizengamot side of the seats.

"Proposal seconded and carried forward," the court scribe announced. "All those in favour of Barty Crouch Sr. continuing the hearing?" Several hands raised into the air and the number was quickly jotted down by the court scribe. "All those in favour of Albus Percival Dumbledore continuing the hearing?" This time, more hands were raised, and the court scribe said, "You may continue with the hearing, Professor Dumbledore." Dumbledore smiled at the young court scribe and drifted back in front of Lucius Malfoy.

"Lucius," Dumbledore said softly, but loud enough that the voice carried around the room. "Suppose I take your word on you being Imperiused as true, what about the crimes committed during that time?"

"I would like to be punished, under the name of justice," Lucius answered quickly. "I should not be put into Azkaban for the crimes I committed, but rather I should be give the Dementor's Kiss." There were several gasps of surprise around the courtroom, certainly no one had expected a Malfoy to take that path. Dumbledore smiled and turned around to face the courtroom.

"Kingsley, the Veritaserum, if you please," he said to the man that was guarding the entrance to the courtroom. The man called Kingsley nodded and hurried out of the room, returning shortly with a vial of clear transperent liquid in his hand. He handed it to Dumbledore and went back to guarding the entrance doors. Dumbledore uncorcked the vial and strode back to Lucius and instructed him to open his mouth and then proceeded to pour 12 drops of the potion into his mouth. Once Lucius had swallowed the potion, his eyes took on a glazed look.

"What is your name?"

"Lucius Malfoy," he said in an emotionless voice.

"Were you a part of the Death Eaters?"

"I was forced to be a part of the Death Eaters."

"And who forced you?"

"Lord Voldemort," he answered, and his voice seemed to take on a tone of anger as he felt the apparsnt dislike for Voldemort even through the potion.

"And how were you forced?"

"The Imperius Curse was cast on my wife and me, some time after we had graduated in our own house."

"Were you responsible for the murder of Order of the Phoenix member, Emmeline Vance?"

"No, I was trying to help her, when I had control of my own mind and my actions during those rare moments when Voldemort could not control the inner circle of the Death Eaters when they were fighting. It was my sister-in-law, Bellatrix Lestrange who killed her."

"Who were the inner circle among the Death Eaters?"

"Bellatrix, Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, Walden Macnair, Evan Rosier, Severus Snape, Narcissa and myself," he replied, his eyes still having the glazed look. "Peter Pettigrew was also inducted into the inner circle a few months before he sold the Potters to the Dark Lord," he added.

There was once again a collective gasp around the room and the chaos that ensued this time couldn't be controlled by Dumbledore's repeated shouts for silence. At last, he waved his wand in a sweeping gesture and the whole room fell silent, the inhabitants finding that they had lost their voices. Dumbledore turned back to Lucius Malfoy and his twinkling eyes were filled with anger.

"Was Sirius Black ever a Death Eater?"

"No, he was a sworn enemy of ours and he wouldn't join us for all the gold in the world. The only Black that ever was amongst our ranks was Regulus Black." There was nothing anyone could do to stop the pandemonium that arose this time and hardly very few people heard as Lucius Malfoy was declared "cleared of all charges."


	2. A Little Bit of Manipulation

Sirius Black was nothing but miserable. He felt like he had let down James and Lily, James who had been like a brother to him, James whose parents had taken him into their house after he had run away when he was sixteen. Harry was his godson and he wished that he hadn't gone after Pettigrew that night. He wasn't sure how long he had been imprisoned, but to him it felt like a month. He still seethed at Barty Crouch Sr. not giving him a fair trial before being imprisoned, he just hoped that Remus would find where Pettigrew was hiding in his Animagus form and help him out. He wasn't much hopeful, however.

He lay there, reminiscing about the time he had had with his best mate, James and all the times he had tried to ask Lily out on a date to Hogsmeade. He thought about his family, about how he loved them all even if they were Pureblood bigots. He had looked up to his father once, when he was small and when he had been taught all Pureblood traditions. But once he met James, he realized that it needn't be like his family thought always. James was a Pureblood too, and he certainly seemed to have no problems with Muggles and Muggleborns. After a few days with James, he also found out just how much he had in common with him. That wasn't unexplainable however, James' mother was, after all, Dorea Potter nee Black. That would make James his second cousin, once removed. He wasn't surprised however. He knew that all the Pureblood families were interconnected, he was even related to the Malfoy family by marriage! And he also knew, if the Black family produced anyone half as decent, they would be diowned immediately. His Uncle Alaphard had been blasted off the family tapestry just because he chose to help his runaway nephew. And then there was Phineas Nigellus, his great-great-grandfather, one of the least popular headmasters of Hogwarts.

Sirius sighed. The Pureblood bigotry could never be eradicated from his family, as long as he was concerned. Suddenly his cell seemed chiller than it had been a few moments before, and he realized that the Dementors were making their daily patrols. He thought about changing into his Animagus form, but froze when he heard slight footfalls in the corridor leading to his cell. He was one of the high-security prisoners in Azkaban and he was kept in the farthest cell away from the rest, so he knew that someone was coming to meet him.

The footfalls ceased and a shadow fell into his cell. There was a small click as the cell door opened and a small recognizable figure stepped into the room. Sirius looked on in surprise. He didn't expect the man in front of him paying him a visit. He was one of the best Aurors in the Ministry and also a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Get up, Sirius," the man said and bent down, his hand out, to help him up. Sirius grasped it and he also noticed that the Auror had been soft, unlike last time, when he'd been harsh and snapped at him and now that Sirius thought about it, maybe disappointed. That was the last time he'd seen the man too, when he'd brought him to this cell in Azkaban.

"Kingsley," Sirius croaked, looking at the man once he'd been helped up. "Why have you come?"

Kingsley looked at him and in his slow and deep voice simply said, "To escort you to your hearing."

Sirius looked at him in surprise. "What brought this on?" he asked, accepting the bar of chocolate Kingsley handed him. Kinglsey chuckled.

"Come," he said, heading out the door. "I'll explain on the way."

Meanwhile, in a big manor in Wiltshire, Lucius Malfoy was regaling the events of the the day to his lovely wife. Narcissa was a great wife, she was very caring and she really loved him. He knew that she would make a great mother one day. Lucius sat beide the fire, his two boarhounds at his feet keeping a lookout for the family's kneazal cat.

"So I don't have to attend my hearing?" Narcissa questioned, cradling her son, Draco, more snugly in her arms. His tuft of blond hair, which was a trait pocessed by all the males in the Malfoy line was combed back neatly. Narcissa had felt the lasting effects of the Imperius Curse placed on her and her face was even paler. She felt glad that her cousin Sirius' name had been cleared in the interrogation of her husband. Her views about Pureblood bigotry had changed in the past week after the Imperius Curse had been lifted from her. She now no longer ridiculed the Muggles and Muggleborns and she had gone as far as to contact her sister, Andromeda Tonks, who had been disowned after she had married the Muggleborn Ted Tonks.

"No," Lucius Malfoy said, petting one of the boarhounds. "I'll have to be at the Ministry tomorrow though, cousin Sirius' trial is tomorrow morning. I'm representing the Malfoy and Black seats for tomorrow, though I'll be glad to hand over the Black seat back to Sirius as soon as he is cleared of all charges..." Lucius trailed off, staring into the distance, while absentmindedly still stroking his boarhound.

"I wonder," he muttered, still looking off into space. He sat there, in the same pose for a few more minutes, a thoughful look on his face.

"Well," he said at last, looking at his wife. "Narcissa, I was wondering, you wouldn't mind if Draco had a brother to play with, did you?" Narcissa, shook her head, smiling. "Well, in that case," he continued, "After Sirius' trial tomorrow we're going to claim custody of young Harry Potter. He is after all your Aunt Dorea's grandson."

"I don't think that'll work, Lucius," Narcissa said, shaking her head. She placed the bundle containing Draco in an intricately designed pram, which bore the crest of the Malfoy family. "Sirius has full custodial rights as he is the legal godfather for the Potters."

"Cissa," Lucius said softly. "I was at the trial today. While Dumbledore was questioning me, I saw the anger in his eyes when I mentioned that Pettigrew was the one who sold the Potters out. I know that the angry look can relate to several different things, but knowing the man, I think he was thinking what impact this would have on Harry Potter. He doesn't want to reveal the fact that the legal guardianship of Harry Potter passes down to Sirius Black once Harry's immediate family have died. I heard yesterday that Harry Potter has been entrusuted to the care of his Muggle relatives, to the family of Lily's sister. I also heard that McGonagall wasn't very happy with that arrangement."

Lucius sighed and got up and began pacing the room. "What Dumbledore does," he continued, "is always done for the 'greater good', as he so often proclaims. But he is no God, he is prone to make mistakes. And I think he's done a very great mistake with entrusting Harry to the Muggle's care."

Narcissa looked at her husband and thought about what he'd said. It was likely that he didn't trust the Blacks with Harry's care. "So what are you planning to do?" she asked finally.

"I plan on getting Orion Black back to the Wizengamot and also influence the rest of the Wizengamot seats related to our family and use it against Dumbledore," Lucius said, as he stopped pacing and looked up at the portrait of Abraxas Malfoy. "It will be something my father would have done," he added as he looked away from the portrait. Narcissa nodded, it was a noble job on the part of her husband. She was sure that he was doing all this to clear the Malfoy name and disassosiate it from the Dark Arts forever.

"But let's not dwell too much on the affairs of the Wizengamot," Lucius said, smiling. "We have a dinner to get to, and I'm sure you're dying to meet them all."

Narcissa smiled, handed the bundled Draco to her husband and left the room to get ready for the dinner. She glanced back as she was leaving the room and she saw her husband playing with her child. Her smile widening, she left the room and proceeded upstairs.

Albus Dumbledore was pacing the length of his office, as Fawkes, who was on his usual perch beside the headmaster's table looked curisously on. Dumbledore sighed one last time before he returned to his desk and sat down. He pulled a piece of parchment before him and began writing on it. Once he had finished, he walked over to Fawkes and held it out to him. Fawkes clutched it in his beak and tilted his head sideways, waiting for instructions.

"To Griphook," Dumbledore said, stroking his phoenix's head. The phoenix ruffled his long wings and in a burst of flame, he disappeared, taking the letter with him.

Dumbledore returned to his desk and pulled a stone basin towards him. He began to twirl his wand in it and stopped after some time. He sighed once again and then left the room and headed to his quarters.

Kingsley Shacklebolt escorted Sirius Black down the corridors of Azkaban and they finally made it to the Apparation point. Neither men had spoken a word and Sirius was still wondering what had changed the Ministry's mind to give him a trial.

"So what makes the Ministry think I deserve a trial now?" Sirius questioned, his voice still horace from not having used it in a long time. Shacklebolt looked at Sirius and smiled.

"Let's get you to the Ministry first, eh?" he said and grabbed Sirius' hand, without waiting for his answer. He turned on the spot, still holding Sirius' arm and with a loud '_CRACK', _Disapparated them both away. Once they had reached their destination, Sirius saw that it was the Apparation point used by Aurors when bringing in criminals from Azkaban for their hearing.

'Great,' he thought as he looked around the familiar place. 'I'm still a prisoner in their eyes.'

He wondered again what had brought about this sudden change in the Ministry about giving him a trial. He knew that Bartemius Crouch was a stickler for following the rules and he believed that this certainly had nothing to do with him. When they reached the holding cells at last, Shacklebolt led him to the first cell, and Sirius noticed, bemused, that it was not the high-security holding cell he was expecting to be led to. Shacklebolt pushed him towards a chair and Sirius gladly sat down on it. He was still very tired from the torment he had suffered at the hands of the Dementors but he was too proud to show it in front of Shacklebolt.

Shacklebolt had, meanwhile, conjured a chair for himself in front of Sirius and had sat down. "You'll have to thank Lucius Malfoy for getting this trial at all," he said, twiring his wand. "During his trial yesterday, he as good as confirmed that it was Pettigrew who sold out the Potters to You-Know-Who."

"And was he imprisoned?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"No," Shacklebolt shook his head. "Cleared of all charges. Was under the Imperius Curse cast on him and his wife by Voldemort. Confirmed it under Veritaserum too," he added. Shacklebolt stood up, waved his wand and vanished his chair and bid farewell.

"Your trial starts at ten tomorrow," he added as he walked towards the door.

"Kingsley," Sirius said. Shacklebolt turned back and raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "How long have I been in Azkaban?"

"Around a week and two days, I would guess," Shacklebolt said and turned to leave. He was once again stopped when Sirius asked him something.

"Kingsley, where's Harry?"

"Harry," Shacklebolt hesitated. "Perhaps it would be best if you could find tomorrow," he said at last. "I can assure you that he is safe," he added hastily, upon seeing Sirius' face. And with that, he left the holding cells of the Ministry and went to his office to get back to work.

In another part of the Ministry of Magic, a plump witch dressed in all pink, was pacing back and forth in her office. She had been doing this ever since the Wizarding world had learned that Harry Potter had survived the Killing Curse. To her, this seemed impossible, but yet, it had happened, and she couldn't fathom how that could even happen. She had looked into several books, but so far, no one had survived the Killing Curse in history. Harry Potter was the first one to do so, and she was going to find out how he had done so, even if all her life depended on it.

She had looked into the records of the Potter family and had found the Last Will and Testament of both James and Lily Potter. They had named Sirius Black as the Godfather and all responsibility passed over to him in case of both their deaths. She somehow didn't want that to happen. She realized that if Black was to be freed soon, then he would file a case in the Wizengamot against the current Minister of Magic. If that were to happen, then she too would loose her authoriy in the Ministry and she would be back to working in the Magical Misuse Department, filling out papers and doing reports. She was happy where she was currently and she was willing to go to any lengths to preserve that if necessary.

She racked her brains for a plan and she stopped pacing after a while. She was looking at the ceiling in deep thought and she was pretty sure that her plan would work. She smiled evilly and set about getting her plan ready.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were dressed in spledid looking silk dress robes and they had entrusted Dobby with the responsibility of looking after Draco while they were gone. They Flooed over to the house where they would be having dinner tonight and were met almost immediately as soon as they stepped out of the fireplace.

"It's great to see you again!" Walburga Black exclaimed, as she rushed over to Narcissa and hugged her. Narcissa had been one of her favourite nieces and she was glad to be meeting her again.

"It's good to see you too, Aunt Wally," Narcissa smiled, hugging the older woman back.

"I'm afraid we haven't met," a man said, who was standing behind Walburga. He bore a stricking resemblance to Sirius Black and it was obvious that it was his father.

"Lucius Malfoy," Lucius said, extending his hand. "Pleased to be at your service."

"Don't be, m'boy," the man laughed. "The pleasures all mine. I'm Orion Black, Sirius' father," he added.

"How have you been coping with the fall of the leader of Pureblood bigotry?" Narcissa questioned, her eyes travelling between her uncle and aunt. They shrugged, and motioned for their guests to follow them.

"I thought we'd start off with dinner," Walburga said, as she descended into the kitchen. They all sat down at the table and Kreacher the Black family house-elf served them with the dinner he had prepared that night. The four of them talked casually throughout dinner andonce it was over, they all moved into the living room. Once the four of them were settled down comfortably, Orion looked at his guests curiously.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked, his curiousity getting the better of him.

"We wanted to ask you a favour," Narcissa began, and she took a deep breath before continuing. Lucius squeezed her hand, reaasuring her. She smiled at him and then turned back to her aunt and uncle.

"We wanted to ask if you could take over the responsibilities of the Black Wizengamot seat tommorrow," Lucius said, observing Orion closely. "Of the forty seats among the Wizengamot, only thirty-nine have been occupied since the past few years." Lucius could see that Orion was struggling with the decision.

"You know," Narcissa said, apparently catching onto the hesitation. "You could do it for Sirius. He's the man that you can proudly call a Black." Walburga looked incredulously at her niece. "Don't look at me like that," Narcissa snapped. "I hate to tell you this, but had it not been for you pushing him to take all your 'Purebloods are inferior' thinking, then he wouldn't have run away. And frankly, you can see what happened to Regulus because of that." The two Blacks remained quiet for a long time, neither of them opening their mouth.

"Think about what you're asking," Orion whispered, looking pleadingly at Narcissa. "He abandoned us."

"Whom do you think he abandoned you for?" Narcissa questioned sharply. However, she didn't wait for an answer as she pushed on. "He abandoned you for Great-aunt Dorea! Could you blame him? She was a Black and she still gave him shelter!"

"And she also didn't think highly of your Pureblood way of thinking," Lucius said quietly. "Well, if can't persuade you, we must be leaving. If you do make up your mind, then you can all be at Courtroom nine tomorrow morning at ten. Farewell," he said, nodding to both the Blacks who just mutely shook their heads in acknowledgement. Lucius and Narcissa showed themselves to the fireplace and Flood back to Wiltshire.

The next morning the Ministry was packed with people most of whom were heading to the courtrooms below. There was a long line in front of the lifts as people waited for their turn to go in. Once the clock struck ten, the Wizengamot was in session.

"Today, were are here to witness the hearing of one Sirius Black," Barty Crouch started and paused while he glanced down at his notes. "The accused has been charged with treachery, and the mass murder of one Wizard and twelve Muggles. Let the accused be brought into the court." The Dementors brought Sirius Black inside, his hands chained behind his back. He was thrown into the witness chair mercilessly and was chained more securly.

"Please state your name for the record," the court scribe called out.

"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius replied confidently.

"How does the accused plead of the alledged charges?"

"Not guilty," Sirius called out.

"Hem-hem," a voice interrupted the session. Crouch looked irritated as he said, "Yes Dolores? Do you have something to say?" A pudgy woman dressed in a silly pink dress robe got up and smiled sweetly at him before adressing the room. The courtroom was filled like it had been yesterday, and the woman called Dolores had to amplify her voice magically before speaking.

"I have a witness who claims to have seen the entire brawl between the accused and Peter Pettigrew," she claimed, a small smile on her face.

"Really?" Crouch asked skeptically. "Well then, you should perhaps call them in." The woman nodded and said, "Guards, bring her in."

Lucius, who had been sitting in the Malfoy seat which was right beside Dumbledore's looked on, amazed. Who was it that had witnessed it?

Right at that moment, the courtroom doors opened and in walked an elder version of Sirius followed by a young woman who appeared to be the witness.

"Sorry I'm late," Orion Black said, as he strode to his seat. "I got caught up in the crowd upstairs."

"Mr. Black!" Crouch exclaimed, apparntly surprised that he would even show up. "Well, settle down fast." The witness made her way confidently up to the witness stand and took her seat next to Sirius.

"State the witness' name for the record, please," the court scribe called out.

"Patricia Smith," she said. Something about her voice struck Lucius as odd, he vaguely remebered recogonizing it, but he couldn't make out what it was. He shrugged and then turned his attention back to the proceedings.

"Could you state your occupation for the record, Miss Smith?" the court scribe called out again.

"I work at the apothecary in Diagon Alley," she said. Lucius got the feeling that he was missing out on something, bbut he just pushed it out of his thoughts.

"Miss Smith," the Minister began, looking at the witness. "Did you witness the mass murder commited by the accused?"

Smith nodded and then said, "He blew Pettigrew up along with the entire street."

"And where were you during the course of this incident?" the Minister questioned.

"I was at my apartment that I'd rented out in Charings Cross Road," Smith said. "I was just above the street that Black blew up," she added. And then it struck him. Quickly, Lucius leaned toward and spoke into the old man's ear. Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment before looking at Lucius at nodding.

"Miss Smith," he said, standing up to get the attention. "If you witnessed the incident, then why didn't you do something to stop it?" Smith hesitated for a second.

"I had other things on my mind," she said finally.

"And you claim that you saw Sirius Black murdering Pettigrew and twelve other Muggles?"

"Yes," Smith replied hesitantly.

"Pray tell me," Dumbledore said, as he walked towards the witness stand and stood in front of Patricia Smith. "Did the two men exchange any words?"

"Yes they did," Smith replied, somewhat confidently. "Pettigew yelled, 'James and Lily, Sirius. How could you?'"

"Could you humour me?" a new voice called out from the stands. It seemed that Orion Black wanted to participate in today's trial. "What did you have for breakfast today?"

"I don't remember," Smit replied hesitating. "Well, I had some cereal, bacon and eggs and maybe coffee... No! It was tea." Orion Black smiled. Dumbledore walked back to his seat and sat down, giving the man a small nod.

"You don't remember what you had for breakfast today," he said calmly. "Yet, you seem to remember what happened almost one week ago."

"Well, you can't just forget witnessing a mass murder in front of your eyes," Smith replied, defensive.

"Maybe so," Orion smiled. "Are you sure that it was Sirius Black who killed Pettigrew and blew up the street? Or was it the other way around?" People in the crowd had started muttering now and Orion smiled. He sat back more comfortably in his seat to watch the rest of the proceedings.

Sirius was looking at the proceedings with a lot of intrest too. He was surprised to see his father that day in the court. He had stopped attending the Wizengamot sessions almost immediately since Sirius joined Hogwarts and he couldn't remember him attending ever since. He was pretty much amazed with the way his father had handled the witness.

"Miss Smith," a different voice called out and this time Sirius was surprised to see it was Lucius Malfoy who had spoken up. "Where is your apartment on Charings Cross Road?"

"It's on the eighteenth floor of the building next to the Leaky Cauldron," Smith answered.

"Well, well," drwaled Lucius. "You must have remarkable ears and commendable eyesight if you could see and hear everything that took place...eighteen floors below."

"I propose that the witness be questioned under Veritaserum," a man called out from the stands.

"I second that," another replied.

"Wait!" Dolores called out hurriedly. "You can't question witnesses under Veritaserum."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Umbridge," Orion Black said smoothly. "My memory fails to find which page in the Wizarding law states that the Wizengamot cannot question a witness under Veritaserum. Perhaps you could enlighten me?"

"Then you should be more thorough in your reading," Umbridge snapped. "You could have done that while you were absent for almost twenty years in the Wizengamot."

"I hate to burst your bubble, Ms. Umbridge," Orion said. "But I did just that. And I don't recall reading that part anywhere."

"Is there any reason you do not want us to question the witness under Veritaserum, Dolores?" Crouch questioned sharply.

"No, no," Umbridge said hastily. "Of course not!"

"Let it be noted that the witness has been administered 12 drops of Veritaserum," Dumbledore intoned as he poured the liquid down Smith's throat.

"What is your name?"

"Patricia Smith"

"Did you witness the mass murdering of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles?"

"No, I did not," Smith answered. "But I witnessed the mass murdering of twelve Muggles by Peter Pettigrew."

There were gasps across the courtroom as Smith said it.

"And what did Sirius Black do?"

"Laughed like a maniac."

"And where were you, when you witnessed these events?"

"At the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron."

"How can you be so sure that Peter Pettigrew was the one who blew up the street?"

"He had his wand behind his back. He was in the process of cutting off his finger when he said 'James and Lily, Sirius! How could you?'"

"And then what happened?"

"He used a variation of the Bombarding Curse and blew up the street. In the ensuing dust, he turned into a rat and scurried away." There were even more gasps in the room and the muttering began in earnest.

"Why did you lie the first time?"

"I'm sorry? I don't get you." Suddenly there was a toppling noise as Umbridge had raised up in her seat and was scurrying away towards the exit. Lucius was too quick for her though as he shot a Stunner at her, and she fell stunned.

"Those in favour of life imprisonment for the accused on the alledged charges?" the court scribe called out. No one put up their hand.

"Sirius Orion Black cleared of all charges!"


	3. The Arrest

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the late update guys. But school's started, and I don't have much time to work on the book. This doesn't mean that I am abandoning this book. I'm going to be posting around one chapter a week, or maybe even two, if I complete them fast enough. I'm also taking this opportunity to inform you that I am going to be continuing with my other stories, and will be posting around a chapter a week on those stories too. So if you want, you can look into them too. **

Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the long table and looked at all the people coming in. He had called the Order of the Phoenix for a hurried meeting, and most of them were wondering why they had been called. After all, You-Know-Who had fallen, hadn't he? At the mere hands of an infant, at that too. Most of the Order who hadn't fallen in the war were there. Dumbledore hadn't called the Weasley's and he hadn't bothered to call Sirius Black. In his eyes, Black was still the criminal he had been imprisoned for. Although Dumbledore had indeed helped out in his trial, that had merely been for the sake of keeping up appearances. For all he knew, Black could have bought his way out of Azkaban. But he knew, the Veritaserum confessions of both the Smith girl and Malfoy had been true. There was no way they were resistant to Veritaserum. But he was just reluctant to place trust in Black again. After all the history of the family just helped to cement that.

Finally, when all the Order members he had called for entered, he started the meeting.

"As you are all aware," he started, looking around at the gathered Order members, "Sirius Black has been cleared of all charges. He will soon be petitioning the Wizengamot to pass over the guardianship of Harry Potter to him." Several people exchanged glances at this.

"It is important that we keep him away from Harry at all costs," Dumbledore said. "If he could get his hands on Harry, heaven only knows what Dark magic wouldn't be taught to little Harry."

"But Albus," Lupin spoke up. "Sirius has been cleared of all charges. Surely, if there has been no betrayal on his part, then we can trust him?"

"Ah, sticking up for your old friend," Dumbledore smiled. "No Remus, Sirius has been an inmate of Azkaban for over a week now. He has been tortured by Dementors almost incessantly ever since he entered that place. We can't afford to let his innocence cloud our better judgement."

Lupin shrugged, admitting defeat.

"Then what are we to do?" Elphias Doge, an old time friend of Dumbledore's, questioned.

"All members of the Order who have seats on the Wizengamot are to oppose Black's claim on Harry's guardianship," Dumbledore said simply.

"But that would be manipulating justice, Albus," protested McGonagall, a livid look on her face.

"Ah, things we do for the greater good," Dumbledore sighed. "Meanwhile, the rest of you will be near Private Drive, keeping a watch over the area, just in case Black tries to take Harry away by force."

Most of the Order members looked unsure of this new task, but they said nothing about it. Surely, the scion of the Light knew what he was doing.

"That's all for today," Dumbledore dismissed them, and stood up to leave the headquarters.

Sirius Black was happy that he was finally free. Once the trial was over, he had waited to speak to his father, but he had already left, as soon as the Wizengamot declared that Sirius was cleared of all charges. He thought that Dumbledore would come over and speak to him, congrajulate him on his freedom, but he hadn't come. He had barely even acknowledged his presence after the trial. So, Sirius had nothing to do, but to get out of the Ministry and find some place where he could stay for a few days. He had no intentions of going back to Grimmauld Place; well, at least not any time soon. He had just left the Atrium when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned around and was surprised when he saw who it was.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Sirius qustioned, sneering at the man. "Surely, it must be something important that you would even consider asking me."

"Cut it out, Black," Lucius growled. "I'm in no mood to fight. Rather, I think you should consider rephrasing that question to 'What can _you_ do for _me, _Malfoy?'"

"And why would I even do that?" Sirius asked, scronfully.

"You will, because I am willing to give you shelter," Lucius answered. "I think it would be best if you come and live with us now."

"And why would a Malfoy be helping his sworn enemy?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Use your sense, Black," Lucius snapped. "If the Blacks were my sworn enemy, why would Narcissa and Bellatrix even be on speaking terms with me? Though I would rather not consider the latter my family," he added, thoughtfully.

"I don't know," Sirius retorted, shrugging. "Maybe you have ulterior motives?"

"Cut the crap, Black," Lucius snapped. "Your sister requests that you come to our house, and I agree with her."

"You mean, Narcissa?" Sirius questioned, getting even more surprised. "But why?"

"Let's talk elsewhere," Lucius said, leading Sirius away from the Atrium and towards the Apparation point. "It would be safe if no one saw us together, at least for now." Sirius allowed himself to be led away; there was nothing much he could do about the situation anyway.

Lucius Apparated Sirius to a pub on Knockturn Alley and led him to a seat in the back of the pub. Lucius sent the waiter away when he came to take their orders.

"Look," Lucius began. "Whatever our thought process may be, we have the same goal, to take care of Harry Potter," he added, at Sirius' quizzical look.

"Was that meant to be a joke, Malfoy?" Sirius laughed. "Why would a _Malfoy_ even think of taking care of Harry Potter?"

"That is not my place to explain," Lucius said curtly. "But I will gladly explain what is in my place to explain. I want to help you. It's just a matter of trust. I trust that you will do the right things at the right time. The Wizarding world needs Harry Potter, and we are willing to make that happen. And as for why, well, the Malfoy name has a lot of influence and power and we are willing to put that to a good cause."

"Why would you even do that?" Sirius asked, cynical.

"You may find it hard to believe, Black," Lucius snorted, "but everyone changes over time. Even a Black," he added meaningfully.

"What do you mean, 'even a Black'?" Sirius asked, curiously.

"You'll find out in time," Lucius said cryptically. "Meanwhile, all I ask is, for you to trust me. I won't do anything to hurt our family."

"Our?" Sirius asked, puzzled.

"Yes, our," Lucius confirmed. "The Malfoy and Black family. But come, we must be on our way to the Manor now, Narcissa is just dying to see you." Sirius shook his head as he followed Malfoy out of the pub. It was too much to see a Malfoy caring about such trivial things in life, such as caring about family relations. Oh well, maybe people really did change over time.

Sirius was lying down on the bed in the guest bedroom at Malfoy Manor. It was an intricately designed room with a view over the grounds surrounding the Manor. Sirius could see two peacocks on the far east side of the grounds. The rest of the grounds were full of trees and shrubbery, a Quidditch pitch at the far west corner, and a majestic fountain in the middle of the grounds, facing the Manor. It was a grand affair, to say the least.

Sirius was trying to rest, but the words of Lucius Malfoy were going through his head over and over again. He could not get over the surprise of Malfoy offering him a sanctuary, much less of his offer of helping Harry. What had Malfoy meant when he said that the Wizarding world required Harry Potter? Sirius frowned. He shook his head to clear it of all thoughts. He put his head down on the soft pillow and tried to sleep. He couldn't. He tossed and turned in the hope that it would help him sleep, but all it did was bring back the night James and Lily had died, the imprisonment and the trial.

The door quietly opened and Narcissa Malfoy came in, shutting the door as quietly as she'd opened it behind her. Sirius sat up in bed and looked at his cousin. It had been a long time since he'd seen her. They were always close throughout their childhood, but Sirius had always liked her sister, Andromeda, better.

Sirius smiled. Narcissa returned the smile and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"How're doing, Sirius?" she asked, looking him over. "Are you comfortable?"

"I'm okay," Sirius said. They were silent for some time and Narcissa broke the silence.

"So you must be wondering why we had a change of heart," she said awkwardly.

Sirius shrugged in response.

"Well," Narcissa said slowly, "we wanted to have another child, but I thought, 'What was better than taking in a victim of the war, an orphan who was too young to survive the world and needed parents to guide him?' Lucius agreed, but the Malfoy in him demanded that we adopt an orphan from a well known family." Narcissa chuckled.

Sirius nodded. It made sense. "It's a noble idea," he whispered. Narcissa took his hand and held it in hers.

"Well, we'll change the world for the better," she said, smiling. "We'll make this world safe to live in. Will you help us, cousin?" Sirius nodded.

"So where's Draco?" Sirius asked curiously.

"He's upstairs, sleeping," Narcissa laughed. "We'll go meet him later. Andy and Ted are coming by for dinner this evening," she added. Sirius just shook his head.

"Will the Malfoy's ever stop surprising me?" he wondered. Narcissa laughed and reached in for an embrace. "You'd better rest now Sirius," she said and got up to leave the room.

After Narcissa had left, Sirius lay in bed, thinking about what he'd heard. He was happy for Narcissa, and was really very pleased with what she and her husband were willing to go through for the sake of the Wizarding World. It was a very noble concept, as he had already mentioned, and he only hoped that the other people who had the power to change something would help.

The occupants of Number Four, Private Drive had always prided themselves on the normal family they had. A baby boy(albeit oversized for his age), a husband who worked the morning shift at Grunnings, and a housewife who was nosey and always spied on their neighbours. Well, they did, until a little bundle had shown up on their front porch a week and few days ago. The bundle held a small baby, the same age as their Dudders, though he was a lot smaller in size. What Petunia Dursley noticed straightaway was the emerald green eyes, a sure sign that it was her sister Lily's baby. She had hurriedly taken it into the house and shut the door, hoping that none of the neighbours had noticed.

In the basket also was a letter; a letter adressed to _Mrs. Petunia Dursley, The Big Bedroom, Number Four, Private Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey_. She had opened it to find a letter explaining the deaths of Lily and James Potter and a request from an Albus Dumbledore that Harry be taken care of as one of her own. In the end were the words, _"Remember my last, Petunia"_. She was not in the least puzzled by the last bit.

When her husband woke up she showed him the letter and the bundle that contained Harry and he begrudingly said that he could stay in the cupboard under the stairs.

Albus Dumbledore was writing a letter in his office at Hogwarts, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called, not looking up from the letter.

Severus Snape walked into the office, his cloak billowing in his wake. "You called, Headmaster?"

"Indeed I did, Severus," the headmaster replied, finishing his letter and setting it aside. "Have a seat, have a seat." Once Snape had taken the seat facing the headmaster, Dumbledore reached into one of his desk drawers and offered a box.

"Lemon drops?" he questioned, peering at Snape over his half-moon spectacles.

"Dumbledore, if you think that I can afford to waste my time, then be assured that I have other things to do," Snape scowled. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Severus," Dumbledore said. "I'd like you to spy on Lucius Malfoy for me." Snape boggled at the headmaster.

"You do realize the magnitude of what you're asking me to do, right?" he said at last, staring at Dumbledore. "I only agreed to be a spy for the Dark Lord, not for his minions."

"And do you really believe that Voldemort has vanished for ever, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, rehetorically. When Snape shook his head, he continued. "Oh no, I believe that he is lying low somewhere, probably outside of England, waiting for one of his loyal Death Eaters to show up."

"And you have reason to believe that Lucius Malfoy will be doing so?" Snape sneered.

"Obviously, now that he has Black on his side," Dumbledore said, calmly.

"He isn't a Death Eater, Dumbledore," Snape snapped. "As much as I hate to admit it, he was never one."

"While that may be so, I would still like to keep an eye on him," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Fine," he snapped. "Then I suggest that you find someone else to do it."

"Severus, you promised," Dumbledore reminded the young Potions Master.

Snape looked at Dumbledore with calm regard, and thought about the offer. The more he thought, the more things became clear. Dumbledore was doing this for his own personal satisfaction, and Severus wasn't going to be under his thumb any longer.

"You're right, Dumbledore," Snape smirked. "I was doing Lily a favour, but I didn't make an Unbreakable Vow. I suggest you start looking for a new lackey."

Dumbledore watched, gobsmacked, as his Potions professor made his way out of the door and down the spiral staircase. He scowled. Fine, he would find someone different, he decided.

Minerva McGonagall had always prided her keen observational skills and her curiosity. It had not surprised her in the least when her Animagus form turned out to be a cat. She believed that she owed the Marauders for honing her observational skills. She sighed as she remembered the various pranks that the Marauders had played.

Ever since the war had started, McGonagall had noticed the headmasters' changing attitude. Where he had been kind, gentle and caring before, he was slowly but surely turning into a ruthless and calculating leader. While she hoped that it was all for the best, she couldn't help but feel puzzled over Dumbledore's lack of trust in Sirius Black. She had known the headmaster for quite a long time, at least enough to know that he didn't place trust on people lightly and that he believed in second chances. So McGonagall was a bit puzzled as to why he was so intent on finding fault with Sirius Black. Frankly, as far as she knew, Sirius had looked out for his friends' best interests at heart when he suggested that they switch Secret Keepers. It was a plan worthy of a Slytherin, she mused. But Sirius had overlooked the possibility of Peter betraying them. No one had expected him to be a Death Eater, she conceded, but still, in times of war, even the most trusting friend could take drastic measures to save their own skin.

She looked down at the letter that had gotten her on the topic of Sirius Black in the first place. It was covered in loopy letters.

_Professor McGonagall, _

_I understand that you would not want to talk to me, but before you throw this letter away, please give me a chance. I'm sorry I switched Secret Keepers; it was for their own safety. I suspected Remus at the time. But I never expected Peter to turn his back on us in such times. Of course, he was always a rat, it should have been obvious. _

_I ran into Remus yesterday, and when I called out to him, he acted as if he didn't even recognize me. And Dumbledore, he doesn't even look my way. What is wrong with them? The reason I'm writing to you is to ask when the next meeting of the Order of the Phoenix is. I went around to Headquarters, but I didn't find the house there. _

_Sirius Black_

McGonagall sighed. What was she to tell the poor boy? That Dumbledore believed that he had turned as Dark as the rest of his family? That Remus refused to believe in his innocence? She worded out a quick response telling him that the Order of the Phoenix no longer existed.

She sat back in her chair after sending the letter off by owl and concoted a plan to spy on the headmaster.

Lucius Malfoy was on his way to Diagon Alley, to meet with his account managers at Gringotts. As he strode into The Leaky Cauldron, most of the chatter in the pub stopped as the customers turned to stare at him coldly. He ignored them and continued on to the back door where he could access the entrance to Diagon Alley.

He tapped the bricks in the correct order and stepped into Diagon Alley. The Alley was different from just a few weeks ago. People were hurrying in all directions, walking leisurely. All of the shops were open and businessmen seemed to be doing well. Zonko's still was filled to the brim, with many more people milling outside, waiting for their turn to go in. During the war, all shops had been shut down and only Ministry workers were in the Alley, but now, since there was no threat to their lives, people had slowly started venturing out and tried to make up for what they had missed during the war.

As Lucius made his way to the Wizarding bank, he passed a gathering where a few people were listening to a man making some kind of speech on a make shift podium. A big banner spanned behind him asking, "**Is the Ministry What it Says it is?**" Lucius stopped in hia tracks, his breath catching in his throat. He moved closer to the gathering, but kept a distance between himself and the crowd.

". . . I mean, look at Crouch," the man was saying, spreading his arms. "What has he done after the war ended? Has he taken the initiative to rehabiltate the various displaced families? Has he taken any steps to erase the scars of the war from the surrounding areas?" Lucius looked around. Sure enough, the wealthier businesses could afford to make repairs, so they were functioning. But smaller businesses like Florean Frotescue's ice cream parlor was still not rebuilt. Lucius looked back at the man. He was handsome, and in his late thirties. He was wearing silk robes; a sign of a wealthy wizard. The was still speaking and Lucius moved closer to listen to the rest of the speech.

"No!" the man said, looking them directly in the eye. "They blame it all on increased costs for the Auror Program. And despite this much money, they still failed to take care of Voldemort in a short time. All these actions lead to several questions, my friends. What is the Ministry actually doing behind closed doors? Are we, the commoners privy to the doings of the Ministry?

"My contacts in the Goblin world have informed me that the Ministry have not yet extended an apology for including them in a Wizarding war. On their behalf, I would like to apologize to the Goblins on the same. We have isolated them enough and it is time to mend our relations in the Magical world."

Suddenly, there was a commotion behind Lucius and he turned to watch as Aurors scattered through the gathering and reached the podium.

"You are under arrest for conspiracy against the Ministry of Magic," the Auror in charge told the man on the podium as the bound him in ropes.

"I would like to insist on the presence of my solicitor before you march me away," the man calmly said, not even struggling against the ropes.

"Duly noted," the Auror said, inclining his head to the man.

**A/N: Sorry to leave you there. But the new charater is a pretty one important in this story, and it's someone you all know. Why don't you take a guess at who it is and put it in your review? It's a really memorable charater and I have taken great pain to work out small deatils of him. I won't tell you who it is right now, but you'll all get to know sooner or later as the story progresses. But for now, guess away. Oh and please review!**


	4. An Old Acquaintance

"Welcome to the closed Wizengamot session," Barty Crouch Sr. said, looking out at the select few that were in attendance. "We gather here today, to decide as a collective force the guardianship of one Harry James Potter." The men and women clad in the Wizengmot issued scarlet robes, exchanged glances with their partners at this. The closed session had been Malfoy's idea; it was seconded by the Black family seat, now headed by Sirius Black. The closed session could only be attended by the Wizengamot members; visitors weren't allowed and couldn't vote.

"The aforementioned is currently in the care of a Vernon Dursley, at Little Whinging, Surrey," Crouch continued, reading out from a file folder. "Mr. Malfoy has petitioned the Ministry to hand over guardianship to him or any other Wizarding family."

"Objection, Mr. Minister," a man called out. "Mr. Potter is already in the care of his relatives. Why should there be a change in the guardianship now?"

"Exactly," a second voice called out.

"It is customary for the Ministry of Magic to assign the guardians of orphans when they are a national celebrity," Crouch replied. "Now, Mr. Potter was taken to his relatives house located at Little Whinging, Surrey immediately after the attack on the Potters' by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by Dumbledore." Crouch looked up from the file folder and glanced at the Chief Warlock. "Why did you take young Mr. Potter there, Dumbledore?"

"Ah," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "I have a few reasons, Barty. Firstly, the Dursleys are his only living relative. Secondly, I have set up wards around the residence that does not allow anyone with ill-intent or intent to harm Harry to come near it. Thirdly, Lily Potter sacrificed her life for that of her son. In doing so, she triggered ancient magics that continues to provide Harry protection, but only if he stays with his blood relatives. I should recommend you to think over the matter of Harry's guardianship again, Barty."

Crouch frowned. He flicked a few pages on his file folder and looked up at Dumbledore.

"The Dursleys aren't his only living relatives," he said, looking at the file folder again. "It says right here that James Potter's mother was a Black and there are a lot of Blacks still alive."

"I meant only living relative on his mothers side," Dumbledore smiled. "The protection only works if he lives with a blood relative from his mothers side."

"Would you care to explain what these 'wards' involve?" a woman asked from the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore replied, giving the room his grandfatherly smile. "Doing so would side track the current discussion."

"I have taken the liberty to look at a few of the wards placed upon the Muggle residence," Lucius Malfoy spoke up from his seat near Dumbledore. "They basically include a couple of strong non-compulsion charms and a really powerful ward that does not allow people with ill-intent to young Mr. Potter from coming near a ten mile radius of the residence."

"So they are basically charms that could be applied to any residence," the woman confirmed with Lucius Malfoy. At his nod, she continued, "I don't see any reason why they can't be applied to any establishment that takes up the care of Mr. Potter."

"Also, the protection provided by magical guardians could be more helpful than that provided by any Muggle," the head of DMLE replied.

Dumbledore certainly didn't look pleased that his way wouldn't be had in the Wizengamot. But he quickly covered it up and smiled his grandfatherly smile again. "We could have a vote on keeping the current guardianship of Mr. Potter or look for a change in guardianship," he said, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Seconded," Sirius Black called out.

"Motion seconded and carried forward," the court scribe called out. "Those in favor of keeping Mr. Potters current guardians?"

A lot of people raised their hands, mainly those who were known supporters of Dumbledore. The scribe quickly jotted down the numbers and called out, "Those against?"

After tallying up the results, the court scribe declared, "Majority vote for no change in current guardianship of Mr. Potter."

Dumbledore was pleased internally, but he did not show it.

"The Blacks have also petitioned for a public reading of the Potters' Last Will And Testament," the Minister for Magic said, looking down at his file.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Barty," Dumbledore said, striding over to the Minister. "The Potters made a request that their Wills not be made public."

"Have you any proof for your claim, old man?" Sirius Black questioned, rising up to face Dumbledore.

"Why, yes, Mr. Black," Dumbledore replied, not looking Sirius in the eye. "The goblins at Gringotts would vouch for me."

"I request on the behalf of the Wizengamot that they check up on this claim," Black proclaimed.

"Motion seconded," the same woman in the back called out.

"Motion seconded and carried out," the scribe announced. "The Wizengamot will look into the claim and announce the results at the next Wizengamot meeting."

"The Wizengamot is adjourned till noon," Barty Crouch announced. "We will assemble for an open court session for the trails of various suspected Death Eaters."

With that, several of the members left the courtroom. Sirius Black walked over to Dumbledore and said, "I don't know what your game is, old man, but I will soon figure it out."

With that, he soon left the courtroom with Lucius close behind him. They discussed the session on their way towards the cafeteria, but were stopped by a woman calling out to them.

"Lucius!"

They turned around to see the woman from the Wizengamot session hurrying to catch up with them. She was a pretty woman with strawberry blond hair and very aristocratic features. She was out of breath by the time she reached the pair of them.

"I'm Capella Greengrass," she said, holding out her hand to Lucius. "Enoch, my husband, usually sits on the Greengrass seat, but he was held up today, so I took his place instead." Lucius bent over and kissed the woman on the hand in the traditional Pureblood way.

"Would the lovely lady care to join us for lunch?" Lucius asked politely, once Sirius had introduced himself.

"It would be my pleasure," Capella Greengrass replied, blushing at Lucius' antics.

As the three of them moved towards the cafeteria, Sirius and Capella struck up a light conversation, while Lucius looked to be deep in thought. When they reached the cafeteria, it was jam packed like the other times the Wizengamot broke up to reconvene at noon. Lucius found them a table while Sirius went over to get the food for the three of them. When in line, he found himself behind Arthur Weasley, and they exchanged pleasantries, although you could say that Mr. Weasley was a little bit nervous at the beginning.

Sirius returned a short while later, with a tray of food for each of them. Once they began tucking in, Capella addressed both of them.

"Don't you think that it would be wise to invoke the reading of the Will of Lily and James?"

Lucius looked at her before spooning vegetables into his mouth and swallowing it. "What makes you think we haven't considered that?" he asked, setting down the fork and wipinghis mouth with the linen provided.

Capella Greengrass shrugged. "I really doubt if James and Lily would make the reading of the Wills private," she said, leaning back in the chair and closing her eyes for a moment. "James was the Head of the Potter family before he was killed and it is an unspoken rule when there are no of age members or off-springs to make the reading private."

Sirius inclined his head and smiled at the witch sitting in front of him. "The Wizengamot also cannot invoke the Wills at the order of two seats, no matter how powerful they be."

"What makes you think it would be only two seats?" she frowned. "There are a few who do support you, you know?"

They both nodded. "Invoking a Will requires the support of the entire Wizengamot," Sirius said, looking around the small cafeteria. "If there is even a single objection, then it cannot be carried out."

"Dumbledore is playing a very dangerous game here," Capella commented, setting down her fork and spoon. "I don't know what he wants, but whatever it is, is in the interests of his own twisted philosophy." No one spoke for a few moments as they looked at Dumbledore sitting a few benches away, conversing with Elphias Doge. Doge was nodding his head and listening attentively, looking at Dumbledore with devotion.

"Well, I'm taking off," Capella Greengrass announced, shaking Sirius' and Lucius' hand. "Gentlemen, until next time."

Two days after that, Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey was flooding with activity. Though the Muggles that lived there hardly noticed any difference, the streets were hardly empty that day. Vernon Dursley spotted the same cat that he had spotted a few weeks ago, this time reading the number plate on his car. No, he shook his head. It was looking at the number plate on his car. Cats couldn't read.

Vernon Dursley also noticed an oddly dressed woman with red hair passing by at the corner of Privet Drive and he almost laughed out loud at the absurdness of the get up. He was chuckling all the way until he reached his office, where he promptly forgot all about the woman he had seen and concentrated on drills and shouted at a few people.

Petunia Dursley's long neck constantly found itself craning over the fence to spy on the neighbor. At one time, she noticed an oddly dressed man passing by in the street, but she thought no more about it. When she went outside, she also noticed a tabby cat with peculiar markings around it's eyes sitting stiffly. Petunia tried to feed it, but the cat looked back at her with a look that resembled a glare. Petunia shuddered. She tried to chase the cat away, but it never budged and Petunia had the strange feeling that it was staring defiantly at her. Feeling creeped out, she went into the house and didn't appear for the rest of the day, though she did keep watching the tabby cat from time to time.

McGonagall, on the other hand, had kept her promise and had kept a watch on Privet Drive for most of the day. Many of the Order members were patrolling the area, and she caught glimpses of them from time to time. At around noon, while she was contemplating on getting back to Hogwarts, she noticed a big black dog walking down the street towards Number Four. She flicked her tail; this dog was familiar, but she couldn't place her mind on exactly where she had seen it before.

The dog came towards the house stealthily, slinking from bush to bush and taking advantage of any cover it could find. The dog hadn't seemed to notice the cat yet, as it was too busy with keeping out of range of the residents at Privet Drive. McGonagall looked at the dog and racked her brains, trying to remember where she had seen it before. The first thing that came to her mind was that the huge black dog was a Grim, but she had quickly put that out of her mind. It was one of Lockhart's imaginary creatures mentioned in his book, she was sure.

When the dog finally reached Number Five, it looked up at the Dursley's house and seemed to notice the cat for the first time. It stared for a split second, before turning tail and running down the way it had come. It didn't bother with staying hidden this time; once it reached the end of the road, it disappeared from view and McGonagall could no longer see it. When the dog had been close enough, McGonagall had also smelt it, and she seemed to vaguely recognize the scent, though she couldn't exactly tell whom it was.

McGonagall pondered on weather to report the strange occurrence to Dumbledore or not, and she decided not to. She still suspected Dumbledore was up to something, and she wanted to find out what it was before she could tell him anything. She waited for a few more minutes, and when she saw another Order member coming down the street, she gave a slight nod and slipped away to a secluded area before Disapparating away to Hogsmeade.

Next morning, the Daily Prophet carried some astounding news.

"Son of Minister of Magic a Death Eater : Sentenced to life-time imprisonment"

Half the people couldn't even believe what they were reading. Many people started protesting that the current Minister for Magic should retire. A few even went as far as to claim that Barty Crouch Sr. himself was a Death Eater. Various rumors were circulating around the Wizarding world, and a few of them were so ridiculous that it was a wonder people even believed them.

When Abner Cunningham saw the headlines, he had spent around ten minutes doing an excited jig around his living room before going into his little study and writing up a speech regarding the choices of the people selecting wrong leaders. Abner Cunningham had managed to get off with a warning for giving a speech in Diagon Alley a few weeks back, in which he had been arrested by the Aurors. Technically, the Ministry couldn't arrest him for making a speech that told about his opinions.

After the arrest, he had made a few more speeches, and he had gathered himself a small following that agreed with his viewpoints. What Cunningham wanted, in short, was to dissolve the entire Ministry of Magic and replace it with a completely new political system. His new system borrowed many points from the monarchical system and a few from the current Ministry system.

Many people still couldn't wrap their heads around his view points, because doing so would mean that many people working in the Ministry would lose their jobs and there would be loads of people unemployed. Cunningham vowed that he would come up with a working system that would allow the current Ministry workers to keep their jobs while at the same time taking the country through a much needed change. But, for now, all Cunningham wanted to do was slander the Ministry and reduce it's image and standing in the eyes of the people. The rest would come with time.

The Muggle neighborhood was dismal. As the man walked into a small alley littered with garbage, he covered his nose from the foul smell that penetrated it. The man looked around a few times before he opened a small door off to the side of alley, all the while clutching a newspaper under his arms. The door was barely noticeable and was only visible if you really knew where to look for it.

The man disappeared into it and climbed the stairs. When he reached the landing, he flicked on the light switch and went into a small doorway. He switched on the lights again and looked around the dismal room before he threw the newspaper on the small couch. The small room led off to a small corridor which opened out to two more rooms. The small apartment was completely Muggle and the man was feeling quite tired of looking at it. The man sported a bushy beard that clearly hadn't seen a razor for a few weeks. The man's shabby appearance was also startling, for the clothes he wore seemed to be of an excellent quality.

The man probably had been handsome once upon a time, but his greasy face and ragged clothes clearly concealed the fact. The man paced around the room for a while, his face scrunched up in thought. He frowned, walked over to the discarded paper and started reading. It was a copy of the Evening Prophet, and the headlines said that Orion Black had given up the Black Wizengamot seat to his eldest son Sirius Black. The paper was a few days old, but the man had scourged through the dustbins in Diagon Alley for a long time before he found it. He flipped over to one of the inside pages and saw another headline.

"**_Barty Crouch Sr. to resign as Minister of Magic_"**

He frowned as he saw the headline and started to read the article below it.

_The respected Minister for Magic, Barty Crouch Sr., was caught in a tough position when his son was revealed to be a Death Eater. Death Eaters are the supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It was brought to their attention by Igor Karkaroff, who named a few Death Eaters in exchange for his freedom. _

_Barty Crouch Sr. gave no preferential treatment to his son, despite all the begging, and threw him into Azkaban. All followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named receive an imprisonment for life. The cells at Azkaban are already half filled with Death Eaters. _

_Following the rumors and bad press, Crouch Sr. has deemed it best to resign his office. For more on the candidates nominated for Minister for Magic, turn to Page 12._

The man's frown deepened when he reached the end of the article and he started stroking his bearded chin.

"Bah!" he exclaimed, throwing the paper on the floor and walking to a small table in the corner of the room. He sat down on a chair in front of it and pulled out a piece of parchment and a Muggle pen. He scribbled something and folded the parchment once he was done. He put out all the lights in the small apartment before heading out to the landing and going downstairs.

He came out into the alley and made his way through the busy streets of Muggle London. He tried to keep to the shadows as much as possible. It wasn't difficult, for it was well past midnight and there were hardly any people out at this hour. He turned the corner onto Charings Cross and kept a close lookout for any people watching him.

When he reached the Leaky Cauldron, he pushed the door open, gave a slight nod to Tom, walked up to him and placed the parchment in a swift motion. Motioning Tom toward him, he spoke, "Take this to the post office first thing in the morning. Give it to an owl; it'll know where to go." He waited until Tom nodded and headed out of the bar.

Severus Snape looked at the man walking in front of him and was confused for a moment. The man seemed to know that he was being followed, but he did not intercept him or do anything. Instead, he just walked on, keeping to the shadows. Snape thought that the man was leading him on a wild goose chase, and he wasn't prepared for that tonight.

The shabby young man had piqued his interest the moment he had entered The Leaky Cauldron. When he had handed over a letter or something over to the bar keep and had a few quiet words with him, his curiosity won him over. He had hurriedly thrown a couple of Galleons on the table and followed the man out of the pub, keeping as far behind the man as he could, remaining in the shadows and keeping silent.

The man led him down the streets of Muggle London, not pausing or hesitating even for a slight moment. The man seemed to know where he was going, and for that, Snape felt thankful. He couldn't find his way around Muggle London on his own. He had lost touch with it a long time ago. He recognized a few of the building as they passed though. The man turned the corner ahead of him and Snape hurried a bit so that he wouldn't loose sight of him.

The reason that Snape was following him was because he had met this man long back, in times he wouldn't wish to remember. People presumed this man to be dead and he was indeed very surprised when he actually met him again for real. He just wanted to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him again. Lately, that had been happening to him a lot.

Snape finally reached the corner and took a turn, but he couldn't make out the man in front of him. Too late, he looked back, but was greeted by a voice saying, "Looking for me?" The next moment, he felt his head go light, his eyes began to dim and he was surrounded by total darkness.

**A/n: Sorry for the late update guys! I've been held up a lot recently and I'd also lost my laptop. I got a new one yesterday, so I've worked on this for a whole of one day to get this out. I've lost the original copies of whatever I'd written in advance, so I'll have to dish out the story as it goes now. Anyway, I hope you do enjoy this. I'm not going to abandon this at any cost. **

**You can look forward to regular updates from now on. Maybe once a day or once in two or three days. I'm also working on another fanfiction, so it'll depend on when I find the time to keep up with both. Enjoy. :)**

**Oh, and please review! I'd like to know how you all are enjoying the story so far. **


End file.
